


Changing the Beginning of the End

by OHai_Here



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-25
Updated: 2016-06-23
Packaged: 2018-02-10 07:37:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2016555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OHai_Here/pseuds/OHai_Here
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Rokudaime Hokage looked over the rubble and ruins of the previous village of Konoha.<br/>He was the Hokage of a fallen village, the once-strongest, infallible village.<br/>And he was cursed to live on as everyone he loved and cherished died.<br/>As he plunged to kunai into his stomach, he smiled.<br/>And as he woke up, he cursed the Shinigami for his resurrection.<br/>-Time travel AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

 

Placing the chisel down, the Rokudaime Hokage looked over his work. _(He didn’t care that his hands were blistered and calloused from carving in so many names)_

Another four names had been added to the stone. _(Two of the names were the worst to engrave)_

Now there was no one left of Konoha. _(Except for him)_

Shikamaru attempted protecting an evacuation tunnel, then the Hokage’s Head Strategist died. _(He didn’t know the kid that well)_  

Sakura had tried to heal Naruto but ended up with a kunai through her head.

Naruto had died a hero’s death, taking Madara with him.  

Now all that was left was the Hokage. _(Soon he’ll be gone too.)_

But the Hokage was not stupid, he had also added his own name to the stone. _(He knows that his time is almost up)_

Not that it mattered. No one was left of the once-prospering village. Civilians had fled on his orders, Shinobihad proudly taken a final stand. _(How could they possibly do such a thing proudly, when he had failed them all?)_

The buildings of Konoha had been reduced to rubble, and the Hokage faces, _the faces_ , they all had been cracked. The Shodaime’s had fallen, the Nidaime’s rock had been worn away, only half the face was to be seen, the Sandaime no longer had a nose nor hair, the Yondaime’s face had a large crack over the mouth. The Goudaime’s face was in the best condition, although her forehead had a deep indent and finally, his own face was half completed. His basic hair shape could be defined, as well as the jawline. _(When had everything gone to hell?)_

The Rokudaime Hokage sighed in content as he made his way onto the crumbling Hokage monument with a basic _Shunshine._

Then he took off the hat and threw it, as far as he could. _(Watching as it floated down into the ruins of Konoha with a slight feeling of nostalgia)_

And then he ripped the mask off his face. _(The one he was known for)_

And he cried, and screamed, and laughed as the sun began to rise. _(Had releasing tension felt so nice before?)_

And there was no one there to calm him down. No one there to oppose him. No one there to help him. _(There’s really no one left to do anything)_

And so the Rokudaime Hokage sat there, on top of what was once the prideful village of Konoha, on the prized cliff, wailing and giggling, tears trailing down his face as he fell into hysterics.

Until the sun dipped behind the distant horizon, the Hokage stayed atop the Monument, watching over his village with two worn-out eyes. _(One which was not actually his)_

_HIS_ village. The village which had fallen. The village which no longer existed except in the mind of one person. _(He is the Hokage of nothing)_

And the Rokudaime Hokage is the last one as he laid aside his filthy robes _(-Caked in blood and dirt)_ and he took off his hitae-ate and rested it on top of his robes before he turned around. _(When had he gotten so tired?)_

And he picked up a kunai, and plunged it into his stomach. _(His weapon of choice had broken years ago, he had been wanting to go the same way his father did)_

 

 

~*~

 

 

Kakashi had been standing in the same place for almost half a second.

His finely honed instincts won out as his hand flashed forward and thrusted the kunai _(-When had he been holding one?)_ into the attacker.

The familiar scent of blood invaded the air as the warm liquid splashed against the boy’s mask. _(Why was his eye hurting so much?)_

Kakashi turned around, his eyes widening. _(NO! Obito and Rin are supposed to be dead!)_

This is a genjutsu, Kakashi concluded.

He dropped the kunai and made the handseal. _(KaiKaiKaiKaiKAiKAI! Why isn’t it working?)_

Then next thing he knew, Obito _(-He’s a fake)_ screamed something like his name. Kakashi felt his body being pushed away. _(Nononononono! This has happened before. It will not happen again. The Rokudaime Hokage will not let it happen again!)_

Without thinking at all, Kakashi had swung himself around and threw Obito in the other direction. _(Even if it’s a genjutsu, I will not let Obito die. Not again)_

Kakashi had pressed into his mind that this was all a genjutsu, _(-It doesn’t matter. Obito’s safe)_ that was why, when the rocks fell, it felt so **real**. _(Genjutsu should have dispelled. Why am I still under the rocks?)_

Even though Kakashi was sure it was a genjutsu, he had managed to chakra-reinforce his hips, spine, ribs and legs. _(He was no idiot, he knew how to do such a thing after Tsunade had showed him it.)_

His left arm had been entirely crushed, but the rest of his body seemed to be fine. _(Shouldbedead)_ Rin and _(Shouldbedefinitelydead)_ Obito rushed over to Kakashi’s _(uncovered)_ side.

Kakashi didn’t know why, but he murmured something that sounded like, ‘go without me’.

And they did. _(Should he be mad about how they didn’t object? No, wait, Shouldbedead Rin hesitated and Shouldbedefinitelydead Obito had tears trailing down his face, that cry baby)_

Kakashi lay there, forcing his chakra into his bones, bleeding out and highly content in dying so he could escape the genjutsu. _(I don’t want to die)_

And there was his little irrational part of his brain. _(Even if it is a genjutsu, I want to spend a bit more time with them)_

Damn it. Guilt-tripping is the worst thing your brain could do.

Kakashi’s right arm was out in the open, along with his head and right leg. The rest of his body was completely covered with heavy rocks and a particularly heavy boulder. He raised his masked face off the ground and twisted in a strange way. _(The pain feels nice, he supposed he’d turned into a masochist)_

Summoning up a hasty Chidori, Kakashi raised his arm and pressed it against the heaviest rocks above him. _(Pieces had exploded from the boulder, the shrapnel tore into Kakashi’s body, making him bleed even more)_

Kakashi slowly pulled himself up _(-wincing the whole time),_ and inspected his body.

His legs were fully functional, no bones were broken except for his left arm _(-which looked like a mangled mess)_ but his body was all cut up.

Kakashi brushed off the remaining stones and thought carefully about his next course of action. _(He should return to Konoha as he has the hitae-ate, but he doesn’t want to see Obito’s face, he can’t see Obito’s face without feeling some sort of remorse)_

Kakashi confirmed to himself, he would see if someone could heal him enough to make it back to Konoha. He’d avoid Obito for a while. _(What about Rin, who you killed? How can you face her? And Minato-sensei? You ignored his son for twelve years after his death)_

Kakashi decided that he would leave. After nursing himself back to the condition where he could make a trip back to Konoha. 

 He’d die before not making it back to Konoha. At least he could say _(-in the afterlife)_ that he made an effort to get back to his home.

Kakashi sighed as he started on his journey, this was going to take at least a week to get back to Fire Country using chakra to speed his trip up, and probably another two days to Konoha with all his injuries.

Resting every few hours of his travels, hunting when night fell and making a small camp, Kakashi had done this ritual every day, for three days, had finally made it to the border of Earth Country. Kakashi sighed in exhaustion as he sagged against a tree, his chakra wasn’t a draining as quickly as he was used to, so his reserves were a little under half full. _(It reminded him that he no longer had Obito’s eye and that the eye was safely in its original owner’s head, which was a good feeling)_

He now had three choices, going through Rain, Waterfall, or Grass, as he stood along the border of Earth country. _(He better choose quick, Iwa nin would be patrolling soon)_

Kakashi immediately dropped Rain, it was the village that Pein had ruled and Naruto hadn’t gotten to him yet. Waterfall country… Kakashi couldn’t remember much about that, Kakashi was sure he had ordered that Waterfall was to be obliterated in the Fourth Shinobi War, so he decided to go straight through Grass, it was, after all, the shortest route to Konoha. _(Aaaaaand…. Look at that. He took too long in deciding, an Iwa patrol cell arrived)_

One short fight later, Kakashi trifled through the spoils of his win _(-he was still coated in that redredred blood)_ and found, to his relief, a bag full of bandages. _(His mangled mess of an arm was bound by his jacket which he took off. The cloth was turning a crusty brown from the dried up blood)_

Digging a little further, he pulled away a small compact _(-Should a Shinobi be carrying one around? Much less a male one?),_ Kakashi pulled it open, his eyes widening at the strange seal array on the inside.

Hesitantly, he sent a pulse of chakra _(-why did his arm hurt so much?)_ and watched as the seal released. A puff of smoke later, Kakashi’s lone eye widened _(His other still gouged out and bleeding slightly)._

The silver-haired boy _(man)_ stared in fascination as green chakra trickle out before immediately moving into action.

He untied the knot at the bottom of his shirt _(it was keeping pressure on his wounds)_ and let the medical chakra slide down his back entering his wounds. _(reminding him so much of his pink haired student who had died before he could reach her, he could see her eyes, tears coating those beautiful emeralds as she said, ‘I’m so, so sorry, Kakashi-sensei.’)_

Kakashi’s wounds on his back had healed to the point where the skin closed up, but the flesh remained tender and raw. _(He had given up on his left arm, it was beyond help from a small medical chakra pack. Instead, he had bound the limp appendage so he wouldn’t die of blood loss)_

Kakashi groaned slightly as he forced himself to move, leaving an exploding tag behind. _(Heh. The corpses went boom. It was just like what happened when he stuck a Chidori through his traitorous’ student’s chest, Sasuke’s dark eyes cursing him to live as everyone else died)_

Two days later, Kakashi had finally reached the border of Fire Country. It was fine. If he fainted along the way _(or died)_ , he would be found eventually. _(Maybe)_

Forcing even more chakra into his legs, Kakashi made his way quickly through the familiar trees. _(His legs were beginning to tire but hell, he loved these trees. The Fourth Shinobi War had flattened each and every single one of these trees into extinction)_

Then Kakashi eventually had made his way in front of those looming gates. His back had torn open a few times, staining his shirt, his bandages around his arms were soaked with crusty, dried blood while his face, his _face_ , the slash on his eye had left trails down his cheek, but had stopped bleeding. _(He must have looked like a terrible sight)_

The two chuunins _(it was a smaller Izumo and Kotetsu, Kakashi remembered them. They had battled Madara’s endless forces to protect the gates of Konoha but had killed themselves as a reward)_ leapt to their feet as Kakashi staggered into view, took one glance at Kakashi’s hitae-ate and immediately ran out to him.

Kakashi collapsed on Izumo, slowly dying of blood-loss and chakra exhaustion and his heart torn to shreds. _(Wasn’t that how the Inuzuka boy died, though his heart was shredded physically, not mentally? Was the boy’s name Kiba?)_

Through Kakashi’s pain-hazed mind, he managed to wheeze out something like, ‘Jounin Hatake Kakashi… Namikaze Minato’s cell… requesting…confidential…Hospital…room.”

Then the displaced man passed out. _(Kakashi welcomed the darkness gladly, knowing that he managed to get here. Here, home.)_


	2. Storm

In Kakashi’s unconsciousness, the man stared into the darkness. Then he blinked and there was a figure in front of him. _(Kakashi would never admit that he jumped.)_

Then Kakashi cursed as he recognised the face. _(It was the Shinigami. THE SHINIGAMI!)_

Then the Shinigami looked at Kakashi with that empty, soulless stare. Then it turned around and disappeared. _(Shodai’s balls! It left him alone. Did that mean that perhaps it didn’t want Kakashi? The man had to snort at that statement. He had gone past the point where even a death god refused to take him)_

Then Kakashi dropped to his knees, the final pieces of his sanity snapping as his shoulders shook. Tears trailing down his cheek he threw his head back and screamed. _(Then the scream dissolved into giggles. Hatake Kakashi, the Rokudaime Hokage of absolutely nothing, reduced to this hysterical crying boy was insanity itself)_

 

~*~

 

A month and a half after that mission form hell, that mission where one of Minato’s students had died, that horrible mission where everything fell apart. _(That stupid Kannabi Bridge mission)_

Then there were three.

Rin had died two weeks ago, Obito being the one to plunge a kunai through her heart.

And then there was two.

Minato knew that Obito was slowly, slowly falling into depression. Minato’s position as Hokage had been announced a day ago. The blonde was sitting at his desk, shuffling through each sheet of paperwork. Then he stopped.

He looked at the paper in front of him. Disrupted his chakra to dispel and genjutsu. Then looked at the paper again.

Seventeen words stared mockingly back at him.

_(-Hatake Kakashi, Hospital, Confidential Wing by request, status: Alive, Murphy’s coma, duration of stay: Month and a week-)_

Minato immediately stood up, knocking over piles of carefully sorted paperwork. Slamming the doors open, he stormed his way through the Hokage tower. _(Hoping that it truly wasn’t a Murphy’s coma situation)_

People tried to stop him, asking what was wrong, Minato simply brushed them off. _(Surely, surely Kakashi was dead)_

He made his way to the hospital, crashing through the hospital doors, he stalked up to the receptionist. _(Shaking off water, there was a storm outside)_

Minato glared at her and growled out something like, ‘Hatake Kakashi, Confidential Wing, _why wasn’t I informed? What’s his report?’_

The receptionist stuttered and had said that only the Hokage was permitted to know every person in the Confidential Wing and that Hatake Kakashi’s left arm was completely destroyed and would have to be made from scratch and the surgery would be in a week, injuries on his back were simply flesh wounds, as by some miracle, his skeletal structure was completely unharmed except his arm, he blew out his right arm’s chakra coils and would probably spend a few days recovering from it, he had chakra exhaustion and blood loss, his left eye was gouged out and he should be fully recovered within a month, he was currently in a Murphy’s coma for an undetermined amount of time due to stress on his body but they were hoping to do all treatments while he was unconscious, hoping that he would wake up.

Minato immediately requested to see him and the receptionist nodded and called in a nurse who directed him to the room.

Minato pushed the door open and immediately had a small heart attack.

The room was empty. _(WHY was it empty?)_

The bed covers were pushed aside, so it looked like Kakashi had left on his own accord and all the medical equipment looked like it was ripped off the patient, _by_ the patient. The window had been thrown open. 

Minato directed an angry glare to the nurse, who shrunk back and said that Kakashi had probably woken up from the coma and had panicked, leaving the room.

Minato turned on his heel, and had ran out of the hospital, desperate to find his potentially panicked prodigy student _(who he thought had died)_ who had escaped from his hospital room on the sixth floor, _in the middle of a thunderstorm._

 

~*~

 

As soon as Kakashi had woken up, he simply stared up at the ceiling. _(The hospital had been destroyed in the first wave of Madara’s invasion)_

Kakashi waited for Sakura to suddenly come storming in, punching and kicking at him, screaming about being careless. _(Maybe she had a sixth sense that was able to tell when either he or Naruto had woken up?)_

Naruto. _(-Kakashi could remember when the boy had died. He smiled at Sakura and Kakashi, the blonde’s Rasenshuriken tearing through Madara’s skin as Madara’s own attack destroyed the boy’s body. Then Sakura running up to Naruto’s corpse, trying, just trying, to bring him back to life. Then she turned around to Kakashi and shook her head, tears threatening to fall as the kunai pierced her skull-)_

Kakashi ripped the equipment attached to him off and immediately made for his favourite escape, the window.

He threw the window open and jumped out. _(He used his chakra to stick to the wall of the hospital)_

He ignored the rain as it pelted down on his skin, and he ran. _(He ran and ran to try and find the only familiarity that he could think of)_

This was Konoha, but it wasn’t _his_ Konoha. Instead, Kakashi was given a chance to save not-his Konoha. His Konoha didn’t exist anymore, hadn’t for a few years, _would never exist._

Kakashi stared at the oh-so-but-not-really familiar stone in front of him. _(The memorial looked blank, empty)_

Then he reached out and touched the cold stone, tracing his carved name thoughtfully. _(The rain stung as it mercilessly slapped against his tender skin)_

Thunder rumbled and there was a flash of yellow. _(His supposed-to-be-dead sensei stood behind him, watching him sadly)_

Kakashi could feel his _(should-be-dead)_ sensei tense, so Kakashi spoke. _(Should I be dead like this stone suggests? It’s never been wrong before)_

Minato rushed forward and wrapped Kakashi in a desperate hug. _(No! Of course not! The stone’s stupid)_

Kakashi hesitantly snaked his functioning arm around his _(Should-be-dead-now-alive)_ sensei and suddenly had an urge to cry. _(Please don’t be a genjutsu, please, please, please!)_

Feeling the warmth of his sensei _(It’s not a genjutsu)_ he cried, and screamed, and wailed and threw a small temper tantrum all at once, before being reduced to quiet little sobs as his sensei had whispered something like, ‘It’s ok, everything’s going to be alright, I’ll never leave you,’ and other sweet little nothings as Kakashi’s sudden bout of adrenaline ran out. _(Sagging against the older man, Kakashi whispered that he was sorry, sorry that he failed Minato-sensei and his son. Minato didn’t hear him over the rain)_

Minato carefully carried Kakashi’s smaller body back to the hospital in another yellow flash. _(As he handed Kakashi over to the nurse, Kakashi tried to reach for his sensei but his energy had left him)_

Minato-sensei asked the nurse why Kakashi had woken up so quickly, and the nurse replied that the Murphy’s coma was undetermined, because the Murphy’s coma was named after Murphy’s Law, so the patient, who fell under the coma, would be living their life with everything going wrong at every possible turn. People would die in their coma and then they would awaken in real life, their mind completely shattered. The chances of a person waking from the coma was 20% so it really was a miracle that Kakashi had woken up so quickly.

And then she added that the chance of a person actually surviving the shock of having everything fine again was 5% and the chance of a person being able to function, without going insane was a one in a billion of the people who manage to make it out of the coma.

Minato simply clenched his fist and stated that he would send Inoichi into Kakashi’s mind to see if there was any mental damage.

Kakashi sighed slightly before drifting off to sleep. _(Quietly. Peacefully)_

And then the screaming started. _(And the sobbing, and the whimpers)_

Kakashi could see it, could see it all. _(Everyone he loved dieing, slipping away. Further and further from his loose grasp)_

And he saw Madara. Standing over the bodies of the people he failed. And the bastard laughed at him, continuously cackling in glee at the glare which Kakashi was sending him, conveying all his hate, Kakashi leapt forward, a kunai in hand. _(He would rip the bastard’s throat out!)_

Madara dodged happily as Kakashi screamed. The silver-haired man slashed and fought, tooth and nail against Madara. _(He would never win. Naruto was the best chance against Madara, but Naruto’s gone)_

Kakashi felt intrusion on his mind and immediately clamped down on it. _(Ino had taught them how to resist mind jutsus after finding out Madara’s forces knew how to perform the jutsus. The Yamanaka died later that day from a tanto through her heart)_

Madara and the rest of the landscape faded away, Kakashi relaxed. _(It was a dream, just a dream)_

Kakashi released the hold on the mind jutsu and came face-to-face to Inoichi.

Inoichi simply stared at him before speaking. _(Why are you so old?)_

Kakashi laughed before answering. _(I’m in my mind)_

Inoichi shrugged and spoke again. _(You were having quite the nightmare. You attacked a nurse and we had to strap you to the bed. Don’t get surprised when you wake up)_

Kakashi cursed before running a hand through his hair. Inoichi glanced around. _(Your mind seems pretty broken. I’ll have to sign you up for therapy later)_

Kakashi stared at Inoichi before replying in a disbelieving tone. _(We have therapy?)_

Inoichi just laughed and waved and disappeared. _(Kakashi would never admit that he almost screamed not to leave him alone in the dark)_

 

 

~*~

 

Minato fidgeted while he sat by his student’s side. Inoichi opened his eyes and looked at the man. _(He’s no doubt broken beyond belief. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mind like that, not even from war veterans. But he’s still functioning splendidly. And he’s much, much older than he should be)_

Then Inoichi stands up and leaves. Minato sighed in relief. _(Because Kakashi is still there, he might be shaken up, but he’s still alive. And that’s what counts the most when it comes to shinobi)_

Kakashi opened his eyes and simply stared at Minato. The blonde stared back. Then Minato immediately jumped up and started fussing over his student. _(Are you ok? How are you feeling? What happened with Inoichi?)_

Kakashi simply looked at his sensei, blankly, as if he couldn’t believe that he was real. Then he nodded and rasped out something along the lines of, ‘M’fine. Don’t need anything ‘cept for water. Inoichi… Nothing of interest.’

Minato relaxed and helped Kakashi gulp down a cup of water. _(Kakashi almost choked but that was fine. Everything was fine, Obito was alive, Minato-sensei was alive)_

Then Kakashi asked about Obito and Rin. Minato fell silent before answering. _(Obito’s fine. Rin…Is dead)_

Kakashi doesn’t make any sort of outward reaction. _(Seems that he was too late for Rin. That’s fine, he supposed, he’d gotten over Rin’s death a long time ago)_

Minato calls in a nurse, who says that Kakashi would need to come back in a week if he wanted to leave.

Kakashi demanded that he needed to get out of the hospital, Minato fought back. Minato won. _(Kakashi was discharged five hours later, half-way through the evening. He was let out after Minato left)_

Kakashi walked back to his apartment, his arm in a sling, his other swinging around cheerfully. _(When he found out that he no longer had his key, he simply broke down the door)_

Kakashi really had nothing to do, so after a quick cup of instant ramen _(Naruto was definitely influencing his thoughts),_ Kakashi picked up the pieces of the door and pushed them aside, and went for a walk.

He stopped at the memorial stone and winced, remembering his episode with his teacher. _(As he stood, the sky cleared up a little)_

Kakashi went to turn around when a fist suddenly collided with his face. Kakashi was sent stumbling backwards a few steps, only to see the oh-so-familiar mop of black hair. _(Those seething dark eyes)_

Obito yelled at him, screaming that if someone wanted him in a genjutsu, they should have chosen a person who’s _not dead. (Kakashi doesn’t know if those words were supposed to cut into him like that)_

The Uchiha boy is still screaming when suddenly another fist hits his other cheek. _(The force is so great, and so unexpected, that Kakashi gets sent onto his backside)_

Obito continued to rain down punches on Kakashi’s painful form until he runs out of energy. Kakashi sighed in relief knowing his body would not continue to be abused any longer.

Then Obito made a ram seal and shouts. _(Kai!)_

Kakashi did not dispel.


	3. Success

~*~

 

Obito sees red and switches on his Sharingan. He blanches when Kakashi is still seen.

Kakashi holds up the hand which isn’t in the sling and gives him a tired ‘V’ sign with an exhausted smile. _(Yo. I’m still alive)_

Obito immediately knows this is an intricate genjutsu which was designed to fool the Sharingan. _(Kakashi, the notorious prodigious bastard, the up-tight asshole would **never** say yo. Not in a million years) _

Obito keeps a harsh grip on Kakashi’s hand, bending his fingers back. _(Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, they’re not supposed to bend that way, is what Kakashi whines and Obito thinks that the genjutsu caster was immensely stupid for getting such a big flaw in Kakashi’s personality)_

Obito doesn’t know what to do so he brings Kakashi deeper into the village and somehow manages to find himself standing in front of the Hyuuga Compound. _(The guards glare at Obito)_

Obito thrusts Kakashi forward, and demands that they look at him with the Byakugan. _(The guards seem confused but obey)_

Obito asks if he’s in a genjutsu, and the guards shake their heads before looking forward, ignoring him.

Obito curses and drags him towards the Hokage tower. Minato-sensei would know what to do, Minato-sensei always knows what to do.

Obito bursts into the Hokage’s office and asks if he’s in a genjutsu. Minato-sensei frowns and shakes his head and explains about Kakashi not actually being dead, and that he was in the confidential wing with a Murphy’s coma _(That makes Obito frown and wonder how Kakashi managed to stay relatively sane)_ and that he shouldn’t be out from hospital yet.

Kakashi ignores the last comment and cocks his head. _(Ne, Minato-sensei, can I be in ANBU?)_

Minato and Obito both pale considerably but don’t object. _(Every shinobi wants to be in ANBU at one point in their life, and with this war with Iwa, we need all hands on deck, Minato explains)_

Obito points out that _he’s_ in ANBU himself. Kakashi just beams at them with a creepy eye-smile.

 

~*~

 

Kakashi grimaces, he knows that the Kyuubi will attack soon enough. _(He can feel it in his bones. Besides, it’s been almost five years since the Kannabi Bridge incident, almost five years since he almost died)_

His arm is now fully functional, after almost a year of rehabilitation. _(His left eye is no longer in it’s socket though)_

He serves as the captain of a squad, next in line to be the Commander in ANBU. _(Obito keeps on whining about Kakashi’s change in personality, and how Kakashi managed to overtake Obito in the climb to the top. Kakashi tells him to stop being a whiny baby and focus on not dieing)_

The next thing he knows, the destructive chakra comes towards him. _(The Kyuubi is released and is very, very angry)_

And Minato sensei is up on Gamabunta, facing off the nine-tailed chakra beast. _(Kakashi doesn’t know what to do, five years of planning for this specific event and he still hasn’t figure it out)_

So Kakashi lets his body guide him as he scrambles up on top of Gamabunta. _(The toad swears with all his might at Kakashi’s lithe form, but the fifteen year-old pays in no attention)_

Kakashi reaches atop the Boss Toad’s head, ignoring Obito’s screams from the ground and Minato-sensei’s surprise. _(Kakashi, what are you doing up here? GET BACK DOWN TO THE GROUND!)_

The Kyuubi snarls at him, then it stops and laughs, then it speaks with its loud, sneering voice. _(You are not supposed to be here. You’re out of place and time. You’ve changed something, haven’t you? You’ve destroyed the precarious balance this world teeters on. WHAT HAVE YOU CHANGED?!)_

Kakashi doesn’t keeps his one eye trained on the Kyuubi, his lips curling into a feral growl as his hands go through a series of seals.

The Shinigami shimmers into view behind Kakashi. Minato’s eyes widen as he shouts. _(NO!)_

Kakashi begins to feel tired as Minato tries to cancel the jutsu. _(But nothing can cancel the Shinigami’s summoning)_

Kakashi’s eyes drift closed as he seals the Kyuubi away, then with the last of his strength, he stares into the Shinigami’s merciless eyes, challenging it. Then the Shinigami disappears, and Kakashi sighs in relief as he collapses, Minato holding him gently. _(Of course the Shinigami doesn’t want Kakashi’s less then tarnished soul. He’s met the Shinigami more than a few times on his ANBU missions. Kakashi can say that he’s stared into its eyes and it’s simply left him alone)_

Kakashi almost sobs as he can see the worried face of his _(Incredibly, amazingly, unbelievably, extraordinarily **alive** ) _sensei as he drifts off into darkness.

 

~*~

 

When Kakashi wakes up, he’s staring at the concerned face of Minato, but then his vision is replaced by Obito. _(His bottom lip is quivering like he’s about to start crying. Kakashi reaches up with a tired arm and pats his cheek telling him to stop crying, crybaby)_  

Minato wants to know what happened, Obito wants to know why Kakashi has to be such a reckless idiot, despite being a genius, Kushina, who’s sitting quietly in a corner cradling a sleeping baby _(Naruto)_ wants to know how on earth he managed to seal the Kyuubi into her son, and Kakashi just feels like going to a hot spring. _(For some reason)_

All in all, Kakashi is pretty happy with himself. Now, he only needs to find Sakura and Sasuke perhaps Sai and he knows he’s going to meet them a bit earlier, because things are going to change. _(He will not let Konoha burn like it did in his time. He will absolutely not allow it, because the Rokudaime Hokage has already failed more people than a person should ever fail in their lives)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I continue this? I don't know. I'm not feeling very proud of it. 
> 
> It's just, you know, one of those 'spurn of the moment' things.


	4. Filler/fluff chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm actually alive. 
> 
> Who was worried about me?!
> 
> ...
> 
> Ok, don't be worried about me then.  
> ...Anyway, 
> 
> NEW CHAPTER!

~*~

 

Kakashi gets discharged from the hospital later that day, totally from the goodwill of the nurse. _(Kakashi whined and complained and annoyed the nurse until she let him go with a ‘GET THE HELL OUT AND STOP BEING A WHINY-ASS BITCH!’… Totally from the goodwill of the nurse)_

So Kakashi heads over to the Hokage Tower, storming into Minato-sensei’s room like he owns it _(-Once upon a time he did)_ and declares loudly that he’s completely fine.

 Danzo and Kushina-nee and Minato-sensei as sitting there, staring at him with slightly gaping mouths. _(Kakashi almost hears the ANBU guards in the room fall out of their perches)_

Kushina laughs and Minato cracks a smile, almost grateful for the distraction, while Danzo turns beet red and proceeds to lecture the Hatake. _(Boy, do you have no respect for your elders? Have you even_ heard _of knocking once in your life?)_

Kakashi brings his gaze to meet the old man equally, speaking in a lazy drawl. _(Hmm? Did you say something?)_

Danzo splutters and stalks out of the room, Kakashi calling out a mocking comment after him. _(Do you need to go to the hospital old man? Did your hip pop?)_

Minato chuckles lightly before Kakashi turns his gaze over to Kushina. _(Are you ok? You look pale.)_

Kushina waves him off with a weak smile and says nothing. Minato changes the subject quickly. _(So, Kakashi, what are you planning on doing now?)_

Kakashi shrugs and replies that he thinks that he’ll continue being ANBU until he wants to retire. Minato’s shoulders slump in relief. _(Thank god! Kakashi, you’re a life saver. After the war everything needs to be fixed up… I knew you were reliable)_

Kakashi snaps his mouth shut with a small ‘click’ because he’s never really been considered a ‘life-saver’, sure, all his comrades from his past _(-future)_ had come to know him as reliable, but a life-saver he was not. _(So Kakashi doesn’t reply and simply nods and smiles)_

Minato hands Kakashi a mission scroll and says that it’s an escort mission to Yugakure, the Land of Hot Springs, an important political figure needed to arrive safely at the village.

Kakashi knows what Minato-sensei is trying to do, remembering a small conversation Sensei had with him a few weeks ago. _(‘Kakashi, you need a break!’, ‘No, Minato-sensei, I’m fine.’)_

 Kakashi stares at the involved shinobi list, _(-Crow, Weasel, Tenzou)_ and he points an accusing finger at his old sensei and tells him that he knows what Minato-sensei is trying to do and if he knows where Team Alpha is.

Minato responds that he doesn’t know what Kakashi is talking about and Team Alpha is watching Naruto. Kakashi shrugs out of the room towards the Hokage mansion and raps on the door loudly.

The door opens but nobody answers it and Kakashi realises that the ANBU squad let him in so he holds up his mission scroll and announces that they have a mission and asks when their shift ends.

Weasel lands in front of him and replies that in fifteen minutes they will be relieved of their duties.

So Kakashi saunters into the nursery and stares flatly at Naruto. Then he crinkles his nose in disgust and asks Crow a question, who’s standing in the corner. _(Are all babies that ugly?)_

Crow snorts and nods, and Kakashi reaches out and pokes Naruto with a finger. The baby latches onto the extended digit with his teeth and Kakashi withdraws his hand from the cot with a yelp. Kakashi cradles his finger which sports teeth marks. _(It’s strange, isn’t it? That a baby has all its milk teeth when it was born a week ago)_

While Kakashi glares at the baby, Naruto suddenly grabs his hair and begins pulling on it. _Hard_.

So all Kakashi can do is back away from Naruto with a wary glance, ensuring that all parts of his body are out of the baby’s reach.

Kakashi can hear the snickers of Crow and Tenzou and Weasel and he sends them icy looks.

Naruto giggles and his hands grab at nothing so Kakashi sends glances at his ANBU squad and they shrug. Then Naruto begins to cry. _(Oh my god, that baby has a pair of lungs)_

Kakashi clutches at his ears, trying to block out the sharp sound and he sees that the rest of his squad are wincing as well. Kakashi can’t _smell_ anything wrong with Naruto, so Naruto must be hungry. _(As Kakashi sighs, he leaves the room)_

Kakashi comes back, _(The curious stares of the ANBU digging a hole into his back)_ and drops a bottle of warm milk in the cot. Naruto stops wailing and cocks his head to the side a little, almost confused at what the bottle is. Kakashi groans and pushes the tip of the bottle into Naruto’s mouth.

Naruto begins happily sucking at the bottle and a few minutes later, he stops and begins crying again and Kakashi begins to slightly panic. _(His ANBU team panic along with him)_

When all the adults in the room begin to visibly start panic, Tenzou and Weasel slump in relief and Crow collapses as a new ANBU squad jumps through the window to replace the other team. _(And the new cell has Cat, a female, in it)_

Cat takes one look at the howling baby and the half-empty bottle and sweeps Naruto out of his cradle and over her shoulder. Cat begins to thump the baby until it burps and sends over a small tutting sound at the all-males ANBU team. _(Tsk. Men.)_  

Kakashi sighs in relief and Team Alpha moves out of the room, Crow reading the mission scroll carefully. Crow then throws it to Weasel who scans it quickly and gives it to Tenzou. The ANBU squad make it to ANBU headquarters and the three of them de-mask. Itachi sends a puzzled look over to Kakashi. _(Have you ever raised a child before?)_

Kakashi answers that no, no he has not, but he’s had to take care of his ninken once, when a new litter was born. Ninken don’t need to be burped.

Obito lets out a bellowing laugh as he puts his Crow mask and ANBU cloak away and slips on his vest.

Tenzou speaks up as he changes. _(So what do think about our new mission?)_

Obito chuckles again as he replies. _(It’s Minato-sensei telling Kakashi to take a break)_

Kakashi sends Obito a warning look, but Obito ignores it and continues on, saying that it wasn’t really a secret that Minato-sensei wants Kakashi to take some time off because the two of them were yelling and practically the whole Hokage Tower could hear them.

Then the four of them make their way towards the Mission Assignment Room, where Minato-sensei is sitting along with the row of Chuunins.

 _(Hatake! Your mission report is four weeks late!)_ A scream echoes through the room as Kakashi dodges an onslaught of shuriken and kunai and… _pencils?_

Umino Iruka is still in a throwing position. Kakashi is sent pitying looks as Iruka pulls out another set of shuriken so Kakashi tries to calm the enraged chuunin down. _(Maa, Iruka-kun, no need to get so angry. After Pakkun ate it I had to rewrite it, it’s at home now)_

Iruka doesn’t stand for any of it as he throws the shuriken and pulls out a pen, winding his arm up, prepared to wing it at the taller man. Then Minato-sensei speaks up causing Kakashi to sigh in relief. _(‘As much as we all would like to maim, kill or vaguely mutilate Kakashi-kun,’ ‘Hey!’ ‘We need him for the next mission. A dead shinobi is an unproductive shinobi after all’)_

Minato-sensei brings in the clients, a wealthy little girl and her father, and soon Team Alpha is off for their mission.

The clients are polite enough, they don’t speak unnecessarily and they don’t try to make conversation with the jounins.

They reach Yugakure with only a small fight, a small squad of three chuunins, which Kakashi takes on single-handedly with ease. He knows Itachi and Tenzou are impressed but Kakashi has taken on harder opponents, _(Of course not in this life, Minato-sensei keeps him relatively sheltered, but the Akatsuki and Pein and Orochimaru and **Madara**_ _make even a few jounin appear easy)_ so he shrugs off Obito’s proud and worried gaze and the other two’s awed ones.

So the clients give free lodging for three days and free access to the Hot Springs in the nearest hotel and Team Alpha jump straight at the offer. It takes quite a lot of convincing to get Kakashi to go to the Hot Springs but they manage it. _(‘Come on Kakashi-senpai, you won’t get this offer often’ ‘Yeah, Kakashi-baka!’ ‘You shouldn’t be so rude to Kakashi-senpai, but please come Kakashi-senpai, it’ll be a great team bonding exercise.’ ‘FINE!’)_

Kakashi really thinks that his teammates just want to see under his mask.

He knows because when he goes into the hot springs with a towel over the bottom of his face, he can see the disappointment clear on their features. One thing that perks up Tenzou and Itachi is seeing his left eye, it’s scarred and closed and he doesn’t usually display it openly _(Keeping it hidden beneath his hitae-ate, being half-blind is better than having a Sharingan in it, because if he has those cursed eyes, he will have failed Obito)_ but Obito seems to sink further into the water.

Itachi cocks his head slightly, because he usually doesn’t talk unless necessary but when he does, it’s always questions. _(Where did you get all those scars?)_

Kakashi glances down briefly at his scars. They curve and bend horribly and look strange against his pale _(Once-upon-a-time-flawless)_ skin. Kakashi has seen them enough times, traced them often enough to know that the scars covered his entire right arm and leg and his back, only his shoulder, head and right leg from the hip down are unblemished. _(I saved a friend from an untimely death)_

Itachi seems to realise that it’s a touchy subject so he lets it drop, noting how Obito’s mood darkens in an upset way. _(What about the eye?)_

Kakashi thinks for a second, trying to remember because in both lives he’s lost his eye. _(That was because I stopped an idiot from losing something precious. But he’s not an idiot anymore, I suppose)_

Itachi frowns slightly. _(Ah, I see…)_

Kakashi can easily spots a troubled look the young Uchiha has on his face, saying that Itachi _doesn’t_ see, as Itachi darts his eyes between Kakashi and Obito.

Kakashi lets his head rolls back and he begins to think… _(Wait a second! If Obito in the original timeline was the one that took control of the Kyuubi, and I saved Obito in this timeline, who took control of the Kyuubi and took it out of Kushina?)_

Kakashi is shocked out of his worried musings as Obito touches his hand underwater, a gently, innocently, kindly, _disturbingly_ confused look on his face. _(Hey, what’s wrong?)_

Kakashi holds back a startled noise and resists the urge to flee from the water at the _(wrongwrongwrong)_ face Obito is making. _(Nothing. I’m fine)_

 _Obito is supposed to have a gaping hole in his chest, a Rinnegan and a stolen Mokuton, a lifetime of sins behind him and is supposed to be **deaddeaddead**! _ Kakashi’s mind screams at him.

Kakashi doesn’t realise the sad look of disappointment Obito sends him and the startled stares of his other two squad members as Kakashi rises out of the water and leaves the hot spring.

 

 

~*~

 

Kakashi is curled up on his bed in the hotel, the blankets pushed to the foot of the bed, there’s another bed pressed against the other side of the wall, his team would figure out who slept where eventually so Kakashi disposes that thought out of his mind. He had bigger things to worry about.

Kakashi closes his eyes and begins to think back, _(Jeez, it’s been so, so long. He hasn’t left ANBU yet, his body is still twenty, he doesn’t have his Sharingan, he hasn’t had Team Seven yet, Sasuke hasn’t betrayed Konoha yet, Orochimaru, Pein, Akatsuki, Madara, they haven’t happened yet, **Obito is still alive)**_ yet, who had initiated the Kyuubi attack? Everything was going so perfectly until he thought of these things… Maybe that’s just it? Whenever things go great for Kakashi, life will just have to spit all his efforts out, because in the end, **he hasn’t changed a thing at all,** has he?

The door opens, letting yellow light flood the room for a few seconds before the person closes it.

Kakashi remains motionless, letting his breathing lengthen and become regular. Feet pad almost silently across the floorboards and Kakashi feels a presence by his side.

Then the person thuds against the floor, falling to his knees and Kakashi hears a choked sob. _(Ohmygod, Kakashi! I’m so, so sorry, I should have died back there, in the cave, you shouldn’t have had to crawl all the way back to Konoha! I would have just died, I would gladly die if it meant letting you live! I’m so sorry about the eye, I should have lost my Sharingan instead of you! I should have died back there, you should have let me die! You were in a coma for a month! You have scars all along your body, you shouldn’t have them, you shouldn’t have any scars at all! I know I’m a monster, I know that I’m long overdue, I know that you should be blaming me for those injuries and I’m so sorry that you have to bear the weight of my stupidity! I’m so sorry…)_

Kakashi can feel drops of liquid run down his face that get absorbed in his mask and Obito lets out another quiet apology, smooth, untarnished fingers touching his exposed back where his shirt had rode up a bit, before Obito drags the blanket over Kakashi.

Obito sniffles a bit more and moves over to the bed across the room and drops into it gracelessly, whispering a small little phrase just as Kakashi’s mind supplies the continuation.

_(-Goodnight, Kakashi-)_

_(-Sweet dreams, Obito-)_

 

~*~

 _( **W** h_y **c** a ** _n’_** _t Ka **k** as_ **h** _i t_ h ** _r_** o ** _w_** _o **f** f t_h ** _e_** _s **uffocat** i_ng **fe** _eli **ng** of u **n**_ **e _a_** s **e** _?)_

~*~

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to be a short one.


	5. Suffocating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very, very short one. 
> 
> Short but important I suppose.
> 
> I'm sorry if you feel like it's rushed, but Kakashi's brain is supposed to be in panic mode, and he can't deal with it because of the small anxiety attack in Yugakure that happened because his brain couldn't deal with such a bad enemy right next to him without attacking. 
> 
> BTW, check this url out to know what's going on: http://archiveofourown.org/works/2167794/chapters/5910236

As Team Alpha draws nearer to the Gates of Konoha, nauseating feelings begin to settle at the bottom of Kakashi’s stomach. _(Why is it so familiar?)_

When they report in to the Hokage Tower, the secretary tells them that Hokage-sama is currently in the Hospital. _(A single, small, unnoticeable drop of sweat forms on Kakashi’s brow)_  

When they approach the Hospital, the heaviness in Kakashi’s stomach begins to weigh down almost to the point of pain. Then Kakashi pales when he recalls _what_ the weight is, _how_ he knows it and Kakashi begins to significantly fasten his pace. _(Nononononononono, it can’t be, Kakashi doesn’t want it to be!)_

Team Alpha says nothing but match their Team Leader’s pace, worried frowns making their way onto their faces. Kakashi pays them no heed as he begins to start running, but is stopped at the reception. The nurse comes out from behind the desk and tries to stop Kakashi but he pushes her aside as his breath quickens. _(Nonono, please don’t be, pleasepleaseplease)_

Itachi sends a quick apology the nurse, helping her swiftly to her feet before giving pursuit to his panicked Leader. Kakashi meets a down-trodden Minato halfway to the terrible weight _(Kakashi **knows** he’s almost halfway because he’s felt the weight at full before) _ who sends him a startled look as Kakashi sprints past, Obito and Tenzou shrug as Itachi catches up, then all four of them begin to follow Kakashi. _(Can’tbreathcan’tbreathecan’tbreathecan’tbreathe)_

Kakashi skids to a stop before a door, glancing briefly at the number on the door, it’s the one in his past life that he used to occupy the most _(Naruto had resorted to calling it the Kakashi-room, each member of Team Seven, sans Sakura, had their own room)_ and the heaviness in his stomach is almost a painful ache as he slams the door open. _(Oh god, please don’t be—it is…)_

The Shinigami stands over the bed, its hand pulling on something blue and shiny, a person’s silhouette, before its dagger is in its other hand. _(Oh my god! It’s going to—)_

The blade comes down like lightning and the patient stops moving, the chakra soul cut from the body and the Shinigami dissipates. _(I-It just—)_

And Kakashi almost forgets how to breathe. _(Just like that. Slash. **Dead.** ) _

In. Out. In. Out. _(Minato-sensei and Obito and the two others that Kakashi can’t really remember are behind Kakashi)_

Kakashi’s legs shake as he rushes to the connecting bathroom, yanking his mask down and retching down the toilet. _(Kakashi hears, through the murky sound of his brain, Minato-sensei and Obito move to stand behind him but Kakashi can’t think enough to actually care)_

Kakashi can barely breathe as his brain tries to catch up with his eye, his shoulders heave as his body wants to get rid of anything, but his stomach protests. _(Kakashi can almost feel Minato-sensei and Obito shaking with grief)_

 _Just like that,_ his mind taunts sadistically, _just like that, slash, cut, gone, dead. (Kakashi feels like throwing up even more)_

 _Just when you thought everything was going perfectly. Gone. Who next, I wonder? Minato-sensei? Obito? Itachi?_ His brain continues to sneer at him. Kakashi feels more bile rising from his throat and releases it quickly.

Kakashi’s hands tremble as he pulls the lid of the toilet down, flushes and moves to rinse his mouth, keeping his back to his team and previous teacher. Then he pulls his mask back up and turns around, Obito and Minato are mourning silently and Itachi and Tenzou are standing in the room, faces impassive but giving the three of them space. _(Beeeee-Shut that damn machine up-eeeep)_

Kakashi tries to even out his breathing as he stares at her _(The Shinigami’s blade coming down with a -shhinng-),_ a nurse comes into the room stares at all of them for a second then she gently asks us all to leave. 

Itachi and Tenzou leave first, silently, without a word. 

Minato-sensei rips his gaze from her, eyes steeling themselves and covering up all sorrow, Obito keeps his eyes glued to the floor and Kakashi sends one last look at her before closing the door behind him.

_(-Her-)_

_(-Kushina-)_

_(-Uzumaki Kushina-)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter preview: 
> 
> Naruto- Naruto is only slightly confused when he wakes up, he's not in a familiar room, it's not the hospital, nor his shoddy apartment or the Hokage Tower. He's in a nice, soft bed. He's also really surprised when the door swings open.


	6. Last Chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHOA  
> It's been two years since I last updated any of my Naruto stories. I swear, though, it's only been a few months ; - ; I'm getting old so fast.

In the end, the funeral is small and intimate, kept close, Kakashi is there, along with Minato-sensei _(Obviously)_ and little baby Naruto _,_ Obito, the Main Family of the Uchihas _(Mikoto, Fugaku, Itachi and Sasuke)_ and that’s it.

It’s just them.

Kakashi shudders as he remembers the weight in his stomach and vows to always stay aware of it.

Kushina apparently died because her body couldn’t handle losing the Kyuubi’s chakra so suddenly. _(And that was the reason why she was so pale when Kakashi received that mission)_

Nobody else saw the Shinigami.

Just him. _(Those daunting eyes)_

Minato-sensei hasn’t cried yet, but Kakashi knows that the moment everyone is out of sight, he’ll break down completely.

The first to leave are the Uchihas, Mikoto gives a bow to the tombstone and they’re almost out of sight. Obito is next, taking Naruto to look after for the day. _(Obito sort-of kidnaps Naruto because he knows Minato-sensei needs to mourn)_

So Kakashi turns to the ANBU watchers and dismisses them icily _(You can go now),_ and the ANBU obey because they know who Kakashi is, ‘One-eye Kakashi’ said to be as strong as an army and next ANBU Commander. _(Despite a disability that widens his blind-spot)_

Then Kakashi wraps his arms around Minato-sensei and hugs him tightly. _(Isn’t that what he’s supposed to do? Minato-sensei did it when Otou-san died, right?)_

Then Minato’s shoulders sag and begin to shake as he cries. Kakashi patiently keeps his arms around Minato-sensei and almost ten minutes later, Minato-sensei calms down. Minato-sensei’s eyes are red and slightly swollen and Kakashi’s flak jacket is wet. Minato-sensei thanks Kakashi, relief clear in his eyes. Kakashi almost scoffs but that would be slightly inappropriate for the event so he simply replies. _(You would have done the same to me)_

Kakashi picks up the Hokage hat, it had fallen off when Minato-sensei had clung to Kakashi, and places it back on Minato-sensei’s head. _(Yes, it fits Minato-sensei and Naruto much more than himself)_

Kakashi lets out a small smile and tells him that the Hokage shouldn’t be seen crying all the time so cheer up because there’s still Kakashi and Obito and Naruto left. Minato tells him that he appreciates everything that Kakashi’s done and thanks him again. _(Minato-sensei’s eyes are red and slightly puffy but that’ll be gone soon)_

Kakashi flings an arm over Minato’s shoulder, noting how Minato-sensei is still a tad bit taller and silently wishes that Naruto could see his father, alive and well. _(Physically at least, emotionally… not so well)_

Minato-sensei chuckles and they’re gone as well, making their way back to the Hokage Tower.

 

 

~*~

 

When Kakashi tells Minato-sensei that Kushina dying is all his fault, they’re alone in a back alleyway, Kakashi is slightly _(very)_ drunk, leaned against a side and about to throw up. Kakashi barely remembers it, but he thinks that Minato-sensei’s features harden and he leans against the dusty wall next to Kakashi and stares up at the sky, then Minato-sensei speaks and Kakashi passes out, only thinking one, grim thought.

_(It’s not your fault, it was Kushina’s time)_

_(How right you are, Minato-sensei, not even the stars could have stopped it)_

 

~*~

 

Naruto is only slightly confused when he wakes up because he clearly remembers dying. _(And painpainpainpainwhereisKurama?)_

And he’s not in a familiar room, it’s not the Hospital, nor his shoddy apartment or the Hokage Tower. _(It’s a nice room, a nice place, it’s not small and cramped like his apartment, it’s more like a house)_

And he’s in a nice, soft bed. He’s also really surprised when the door swings open and another blonde head bobs into view. _(Holy crap…It’s Otou-san…)_

That’s when Naruto decides that he’s probably dead. Then Otou-san speaks, he says to get prepared for the Academy because it’s graduation day and he might just get Kakashi-kun’s team _(Kakashi-kun?)_ and try not to be too mean with Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-kun’s going to be here soon to pick you up for the graduation test. _(Uhhh…)_

Then Naruto’s brain sort-of short circuits when Kakashi’s silver hair is in view at his window and Kakashi looks the same as ever, hitae-ate tilted diagonally, gravity-defying hair, mask, annoyingly-familiar eye-smile. _(Familiarity is good, Naruto guesses, because it means that he’s not completely insane)_

Naruto can’t help but let out a small, surprised, ‘Kakashi-sensei’ slip out of his mouth. Kakashi tilts his head and almost-pouts. _(What happened to the adorable little boy who would follow me around like a little duck and call me ‘Kakashi-nii san’?)_

Naruto squawks a little a flails around _(What happened, Kakashi-sen—nii san?)_ Kakashi pats his head condescendingly and turns around, bending his knees a little. _(Come on, get on my back. You used to love piggy-back rides all the time)_

Otou-san gives a wave and calls out a good luck before Kakashi is out the window again and onto roofs.

When their house is out of sight, Kakashi drops Naruto abruptly and turns towards him. _(Who are you?)_

Naruto gapes at Kakashi-sensei for a second. _(Duh, I’m Naruto. I thought we established that already. Who are **you**? Last time I checked, you were my sensei and the Rokudaime Hokage) _

Kakashi’s eyes widen and he asks how he knows that and Naruto replies that because Kakashi-sensei _was_ his sensei and the Rokudaime. Then Kakashi speaks, almost hesitantly. _(Naruto?)_

Naruto scoffs and says, _(Who else?)_ Kakashi then rephrases and asks if he knew who Madara was.

Naruto raises an eyebrow, _(That super evil guy that wanted to do all that funky stuff with the Juubi?)_ and Kakashi almost lets out a cheer and he says, _(It’s you, the you from the future! I’m the Kakashi from the future as well… not this future but the other future! I’m Kakashi Hatake, twenty-seven years old, about to be your genin-sensei, I came from a future where I was the Rokudaime Hokage…I saved your father and Obito… I didn’t really affect the Uchiha Massacre because they’re asses but I framed an S-classed Iwa Missing-nin so Itachi is still in Konoha… Uhm… I guess Sasuke not so much of a moody-bastard but you two still have a rivalry… Yeah) _

Naruto’s mouth hangs open and he asks what about Sandaime-jiji? And Kakashi-sensei replies that he’s in retirement. Then Kakashi stops for a second and says that they should probably go to the Academy and it wouldn’t do to be late to his graduation test.

Naruto sort of blinks and hops back on to Kakashi-sensei’s back as his brain tries to start up again from the overwhelming influx of information.

His brain actually catches up when a rubber gets thrown at his head from Iruka-sensei who screams at him for being half-an-hour late before Iruka-sensei turns his murderous gaze towards Kakashi-sensei. _(You, Hatake, are going to get what you deserve… Making Naruto late!)_

Then a man gets flung through the open window which they entered from and drops onto the floor, along with two others and Naruto almost gapes. _(Because it’s teme’s older-evil-but-not-really-sort-of-antagonistic brother, Itachi and another Uchiha that sort-of-looks-like-Tobi-except-without-the-scars-and-hateful-expression and Yamato-taichou)_

Kakashi-sensei raises a hand in greeting and sort-of-Tobi picks himself off the ground and tells Kakashi-sensei that they have a mission and Sasuke-teme tilts his head and tells sort-of-Tobi _(Obito)_ and Itachi hello, and they repeat their greetings and Sasuke-teme actually _smiles_ and Yamato-taichou is patiently waiting and the girls in the class are squealing at both Sasuke and his brother and Kakashi-sensei and sort-of-Tobi and Naruto even though they used to hate him and Naruto isn’t wearing orange and Naruto’s brain can’t comprehend anything so his mouth just opens and gapes at everything while he looks like an idiot. _(W-what is going on? An apocalypse?)_

Kakashi-sensei chuckles from the dumbfounded look on Naruto’s face, causing him to snap his mouth shut and flush heavily. Naruto’s mind absolutely refuses to register the scene he is seeing _(Flashing lights of ‘Does not compute , does not compute’ in his mind)_ so Naruto closes his eyes for a moment, even if it’s just to ease his brain for a second. Kakashi-sensei, no, _Kakashi-nii_ fixed all of this, made the world an insane where Sasuke smiles and Itachi isn’t a missing-nin and Tobi is good and his father is alive…Wait a second… _(What the HELL happened to the Kyuubi?)_

Kakashi-sensei seems to almost hear his panic and pats Naruto’s head again and whispers to him that he still has Kurama. Naruto’s breath starts to even out and his mind clears a little. _(That’s a good thing, Kurama is still there)_

Iruka-sensei is sending the four other men glares. _(Are you going to leave anytime soon?)_

Sort-of-Tobi grabs Kakashi-sensei by the collar of his flak jacket and begins dragging Kakashi-sensei away, out of the window. Yamato-taichou and Itachi bow and say their apologies.  

Sasuke-teme then turns towards Naruto and tells him he’ll see Naruto in his team. _(Why the hell does Sasuke know about teams?)_

 ** _What the hell?_ ** A deep, loud, _familiar_ voice booms from inside his head. **_The last thing I remember is being free from your pitifully weak body!_**

Naruto lets out a snigger, earning him strange but admiring looks from his fangirls _(?)_.

 _(Naruto-kun, what’s so funny?)_  

Naruto raises an eyebrow, Ino is twisting her hair in her fingers with a strange look on her face, and a small blush on her cheeks. Naruto shakes his head and gestures to Iruka-sensei, who just came into the classroom. _(It’s my turn for the exam)_

Naruto is standing in front of Iruka-sensei and Mizuki, he performs a flawless Henge and Kawarimi…

_(Ok Naruto, time to do a clone)_

Naruto thinks for a second _(Should he fail just to keep the timeline moving?... Nah)._

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**

Naruto doesn’t say anything, or make any handsigns, but his three clones appear. Iruka-sensei and Mizuki gape but pass him anyway.

And eventually, a few days afterwards, Naruto is sitting next to Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan, in front of Kakashi-sensei. _(Maa, let’s do introductions, I’m Hatake Kakashi, I enjoy things, I dislike things… my hobbies? Well, I have hobbies. My dreams for the future? I  just make things go right)_

Naruto can’t keep the grin off his face as he yells cheerfully. _(I’m Uzumaki Naruto! My dad’s the Hokage and I dislike a small amount of things and I like lots of things! My hobbies include eating ramen and having fun, and my dream for the future? Well, I’d like to keep all of my precious people safe!)_

 

~*~

 

Kakashi watches his three genin pass his test with ease, with Naruto-from-the future a lot mellower, Sasuke being less of a snobbish bastard and Sakura less abusive of Naruto. He gives them all their lunches and watches, almost fondly, as they argue and try and steal their favourite parts of the bento box from each other.

It’s not perfect, far from it in fact, with the new not-Obito-Tobi sticking to the back of Kakashi’s mind, but it’s pretty damn close.

_(And, Kakashi thinks, he’ll face these new issues with two blondes and three Uchihas by his side, with his shoulders squared and prepared, with his lifetime of failures and experience behind him and a bright, bright future of hope ahead of him. Yes, it’s pretty great, if Kakashi says so himself)_

**-Fin-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so I was planning on continuing this but Naruto has utterly lost my interest so I cut it off. I will try finish Nukenin but my other story will probably be abandoned. My Naruto phase has finished and I no long wish to write any more on this fandom. It was nice when it lasted though.


End file.
